tracing some footsteps..

an early start yesterday.. off to Plymouth.
 via Torquay (and Totnes), then to Plymouth and Tavistock..

but first, the expected morning cup of tea and as I am so sconed out, I had a tiny egg and bacon tart.. with a hot chocolate. .. then a drive through the rolling hills & wet roads to Torquay.. a much talked about sea-side village that was a big disappointment. I was expecting a sleepy sea-side village like Brunswick Heads but instead I found a seaside town more like The Entrance... a little walk accompanied by the seagulls and their haunting cry.. it is a beautiful sound, so different to the gulls squawking at home..

Torquay reminded me somehow of being in Vaucluse as a child at 'auntie Beryl's' place..  not sure why.

Maybe it was the grand homes overlooking the sea. 

Torquay had all the usual shops  selling overpriced goods but in summer, I can see that it would be a nice place for families to escape to - but not my cup of tea at all.

as we drove, I talked to Joe about how my perception of what England was going to be like, was totally wrong. I have really watched too much Doc Martin and Midsomer Murders!! Not sure why, but I thought the whole of England was going to be like Reeth in the Dales.. but as we have travelled south, it just becomes busier and the people here, are, sadly not friendly like those in the north. I am sure i have said that in previous posts. Of course, there are the occasional people that we meet who chat with us, but all in all, many of them wear a haughty air.. and of course, we all know that not many Australians are at all haughty!! I really hope that the people in Cornwall are not like that, because it will be a bitter disappointment.
 At the moment, I am at the point where I say bring on a Republic in Australia and I have been a Monarchist for ever! [I know I must sound that I am complaining, but this is how i feel and what I observe..]

"where has my head been? living in the past, of times gone by. This causes a disappointment sometimes, one of my own making".....

I am beginning to feel a sense of loss. Right now, I am really looking forward to Cornwall and hope, that I can shove my hands in my coat pockets and walk the Moors."....

then after Torquay, we drove towards Plymouth to find another Harley Davidson shop.

and took a quick detour to Totnes.. and I am so glad we did!!!
what a divine, delightful town..

so different to the one we had just left..

my kind of town!!

being in Totnes, took that jaded feeling away, as I walked the streets.. taking photo after photo. Alot of organic shops and a quiet little town.. in retrospect, I would stay here instead of in the country, as beautiful as our cottage is.. but that is what happens when you throw a dart at the map!!

we had lunch and then raced back to the car not remembering what time our stupid ticket ran out. I am so over this park and display thing.. it makes me anxious the whole time.. always needing to be aware of the time.. back on the road and to the Harley shop for a quick visit

then to Tavistock

where my great-grandfather was born.. another lovely town.. but we only had a short time there as it was getting late..we hope to return before we go home..

as we sat drinking tea, looking out the window, I imagined my great.great. grandmother, at the markets doing her weekly shopping. or did she have a housekeeper who did that for her? I will never know. I wonder why these kind of things are so important to me. I seem to go in and out of the past.. seeing glimpses of times gone by, then back with a jolt to the crowded modern day England. reminds me so much of that scene in The DaVinci Code.

and as we drove, the scenery changed and we were in the Moors..part of Dartmoor National Park. Once again, the moors spoke to me. This kind of landscape touches my heart much, much more than the green rolling hills do. Alot more. I love the open spaces, the heather. The feeling of remoteness. It's funny how certain places touch ones soul.

"I have always thought of England as my soul home.. but i know now, that it isn't. Not modern day England anyhow, this England seems alien to me.. I think that i am finally laying those ghosts of long ago memories to rest and will be able to embrace Australia at last. And I know after today, that i won't return."

"I wonder what my Pa or my great-grandparents would think of Devon today? I wonder what they would think of the land that they left, all those years ago.. spoilt by modern day living"

the drivers continue to cause us great consternation.. expletives from Joe are common.. and sometimes, as I said, i feel like shaking my fist at them, [I actually do].. they just don't see anyone else on the road..so many times, we have had to stop and pull over as they roar down the hillside, narrow roads, pushing us over and of course with the rain, the roads are so muddy we are always in fear of getting bogged....and it is not just car drivers but buses and trucks. They roar along these narrow roads as if they are driving a small car.Not the farmers on their tractors.. they are usually courteous, give a nod and slow down. Yesterday, we were parking our car in the main street, put our blinker on and got blasted by a  jerk driving yet another black 4x4 - because we held him up. what a fool.

today, we are having a quiet day, it has dawned rainy - again... we might drive to see the Abbey, because a walk is out.. the roads are flooded and the public footpaths treacherous.. I knew it was going to be cold, I knew it was going to rain. I just didn't think it would rain every single day.

 I just hope that I can get to walk the Moors and cliffs of Cornwall.